This Year
by HisSweetestHoney
Summary: A sweet and tender moment shared between two young lovers on the eve of Christmas. Distance has always been a large factor in their relationship. Will it damper their feelings during the holidays... or will distance and time make the heart grow fonder?


**Wooo! xD I never post on here. dA's where I mainly post because I'm a sissy when it comes to feedback. xD Ah, well. Merry Christmas!**  
**IF YOU DON'T LIKE SONAMY, TURN YOUR BUTT AROUND!**

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She let out a breath. It became a white fog in the chilled air that surrounded her before it, too, evaporated from sight. The idea of it all didn't help the situation.

_How dare him!_ _He promised me he'd be back this time... he promised..._

In the back of her mind, she knew the scenario shouldn't have bewildered her. His constant absence was something that she had come to terms with long ago - she had swallowed it whole and accepted the concept when they had first decided to become a couple. It was a mutual consensus; she would date him as long as he was allowed his freedom to an extent. He couldn't cheat on her, but he was still allowed to run off and see the world.

A fraction of her wanted to be there with him. She knew his ambition was to see the world, and she honestly respected that, but she couldn't help but miss him. Whenever he'd be gone for any long period of time she often found herself yearning for the scent of him, aching for the feeling of his arms wrapping around her slender form. The feeling of abandonment was increasingly poignant during the holidays. Christmas, by far, was no exception.

She fumbled with the package in her hands. It was wrapped in exquisitely bright red wrapping paper, carefully taped and decorated with a white bow on the top. Bending over, the rosette female dusted off the snow from the ground and carefully placed the gift in the cleared area beside her before dropping down to her clothed rump beside the parcel.

The coat had been a gift from Rouge. It was equally red as the wrapping paper she had so tediously selected; it was like a trench coat, in a way, but much more feminine and suited her tiny physique. It was thick as well and insulated the pink hedgegirl much more than her previous white and fluffy jacket had. It complimented her rose fur well. Amy had been giddy when she received it and was eager to see Sonic's reaction to the garment. Several times when she was Christmas shopping she had been complimented on her appearance while wearing it. Numerous times she'd have to settle single men's advances on her with the notion that she, did, indeed have a boyfriend and he was simply away for the time being. She assured them he'd be back for Christmas.

It almost startled her that she was so terrified of spending Christmas alone. Why was it? She hadn't spent it with her family since she had run away all those years before. She could always go celebrate with Cream and Vanilla again. Why was it so different this time?

It was the ring on her finger that reminded her why. Sonic was her family now. Sonic had given her a promise ring before he had left on this particular journey and it symbolized what was to come. Sonic wasn't just her love anymore; he was her family and he wasn't home for Christmas.

Sniveling, she hazardously avoided rubbing her nose on her coat.

She brushed her thumb against the thin silver ring. _I trust you, Sonic. I'm sitting here believing in you. Please, please don't let me down._

"I'm such a child..." she mewled to no one in particular. The wind picked up a little and blew the snow onto her coat and into her curled hair.

It was against the Christmas spirit to do so but the rosy rascal soon found herself with a thick gloom. She shivered a little and tried to replace her thoughts on happier things; on anything that would get her mind off of the fact that she had been let down once again - and on Christmas, of all times! She thought of spending the holiday with Cream, of baking cookies with her little sister and singing Christmas carols... but her thoughts still strayed back to the blue blur and she felt betrayed.

It was with grief that hot tears began to congregate in the corners of her eyes. She had never wanted to cry on Christmas Eve.

She shivered again as a brisker breeze tore against her form. Her quills lifted off of her shoulders and fanned across her mid back, resembling hair more than ever. Quaking from the sudden puff of frigid air, she hugged her arms closer to her chest and gave a small, almost completely silent whimper to herself. What was it about being alone that brought out this pathetic, mewling side of her? It was agitating. No wonder why Sonic didn't want to spend Christmas with her; who would want to spend such a holiday that sat by herself and cried like a small child? Was that all she was to him? A small child that needed to be watched but, overall, dampened the mood? Could he only take her in spurts?

Or... worse, did he meet someone else and decide that Amy wasn't '_the one_'?

"Why the long face, Juliet?" a voice breathed down her neck. Her entire body erupted into oddly pleasurable shudders and Amy jumped about a mile and a half. The oddest sensation occurred; she felt her legs squirm and writhe together and her eyelids fluttered. Oh, she knew that warmth. She knew that warmth and that voice like the back of her rosy shaded hand, gloved or not.

Her lovely mouth opened slightly. "Sonic... you came," she gasped a little as he pushed some of her quills away from her pink neck and pressed his lips against the exposed area. She let out a hot, squeaky breath and heard him chuckle a little.

He spun around her and gave her that smile that had managed to make her weak in the knees for so long. "You doubted me?"

When offered, she grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her boot-clad feet. She fell eye level with his nose. He had grown taller since she'd last seen him. Her jade orbs flickered up to him like pools of lustrous emotion. It was possible for him to read every misguided and masqueraded feeling she had felt over the past few minutes like a road map.

His eyes skimmed over her to check for damage. She didn't appear to be hurt. She was clad in brown fuzzy boots and white tights that clung to her long, slender legs. It was easy for him to say that the rosy rascal's height was in her legs; they looked as if they were miles long. Amy appeared to be sufficiently heated in a red coat that reached a bit down past her hips. Black buttons kept it in place, sketching up the front of her body. He assumed she was wearing a black skirt of some sort under the coat, but he wouldn't quite see it.

She looked delightful with flurries of snow melting in the valleys and inner curls of her quills. The small flecks of white powder dampening spots on her rosy fur was an odd sort of bewitching indulgence for the older hedgehog. She blushed a little and stared at him. "You left... what was I supposed to think? With that speed, you should always be on time."

He brushed some of the snow off of her. Amy gave an adorable little titter and snuggled into his touch. "I had to take a detour," he grinned a little, his voice and breath warm on her twitching nose. "I couldn't just show up here without a gift, could I?"

"You got me something?"

She looked so childish when she said it.

The blue male couldn't help but chuckle at her and smile affectionately at her. "Well, if you don't want something, I suppose I could go return it before the store closes..."

"NO!"

He laughed a little more as she blushed. She seemed to be stumbling over words and a clear explanation of her sudden outburst. He pulled her closer and slid his arms around her slender waist. She was so obnoxiously adorable and precious that he found it hard to not be touching her at that moment; her cheeks were rosy and she shivered a bit. He kissed the tip of her twitching nose and smiled as she giggled a little, affectionately.

She cooed a little."I thought you forgot about me," she purred as he nuzzled her a little. She felt his hand slide into her coat pocket and she blushed. "Sonic!"

His fingers dragged against her stomach purposefully as he pulled his hand out. It was too much fun for him to get her flustered. Was it her fault that she looked so pretty when she was blushing and embarrassed? The crimson burned across her creamy muzzle, radiating and bringing out the greenness of her eyes and complimenting the rosy shade of pink that was her fur. He had always thought that she was prettiest when she was blushing, albeit angry or embarrassed, it didn't matter. The blush spread across her skin like a single drop of blood into a glass of milk.

"Merry Christmas, Ames," he grinned at her. She found herself smiling despite the bitter crimson hue that stretched across her nose.

She felt him gather her into a warming embrace, sliding his arms back around her and resting his hands on the small of her back. Fondness poured into her and she was about read to forgive every wrongdoing he had done to her in the past month by deserting her but she felt something hard press against her thigh and she gasped, the familiar violent blush searing across her. "T-That better be a present in your p-pocket, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Why don't you check yours?"

Amy took three steps backwards, her boots crunching and leaving imprints in the snow and slid her hand into her red jacket's pocket. Sure enough, there was a small box hidden away in the cavern of her coat. She furrowed her eyebrows. How...? Finally, after a few moments worth of terror as to why she didn't remember, it hit her; Sonic had slid his hands into her pocket and dropped it in. She knew she was right when he raised his eyebrows at her and grinned, his ego shining once again.

The rosette fumbled over the small box. It looked like the sort of box that one kept an engagement ring in. She grinned a little at the thought of becoming his bride but quickly ruled out the option; there was no way Sonic would propose to her so soon. The promise ring was a stretch, even for him. It was how she knew he really loved her. Besides, the box was a little too big for that.

"Well?" he asked, slightly impatient. He wanted to see the smile on her face more than anything. He had been late because he was taking his time picking out the right one. "Open it!"

She gave him a teasing grin and purposefully opened it slowly, just to bother him. It was a gold charm bracelet with about 7 different charms on it. Each of them looked carefully crafted and unique in it's own way; one was a lovely golden rose with artistic thorns pricking along the bottom. Another was a small eiffel tower, shimmering and shining a little brighter than the rest. She gaped at it in awe before looking up at her boyfriend, a curious look in her jade orbs.

He had a bashful sort of grin. "It's a charm bracelet. Each charm is from one of the places I've visited- the rose is from Mexico, and I think you can guess were the tower is from," he took the small box from her gently and took it out of it's confinement, nervous from her passionate gaze. "I saw the rose and thought of you right away. Pretty, isn't it?"

"S-Sonic..." she couldn't even begin to describe the love thats he felt for him in that moment. The idea that he had thought of her while visiting all of these beautiful and unique places was flattering, to say the least. And he got her something from each...

He gave her the same warm smile he had given her when she had first kissed him and slid it onto her wrist. It dangled and jingled pleasantly (one of the charms was a small bell). "Good, it fits. I remembered that your wrist was smaller than mine so I had one of the ladies in the store model it for me."

She gave him a meaningful look. He felt his own cheeks warm at the way she was looking at him; only Amy could have ever gotten this sort of reaction out of him. Her gazes were strong and filled with emotion, and each one meant something. He missed her peridot eyes; there wasn't anything in the world quite like them. When Amy had been extra rambunctious and emitted more, admittedly, annoying traits, it had been her eyes that had kept him around. As cheesy as it sounded - not to mention unmanly - it was her eyes that he loved the best about her. Of _course_ there were other parts of her body that he found, ahem, _nice_, it was her eyes that captured him the most, that allured him to no end.

Her voice quivered a little as she spoke. "I-I'll never take it off."

And then suddenly she jumped. She spun around, long, curly quills swinging around her like a silky mane of hair and bent over, allowing her mane to drape across and over her shoulders bewitchingly. They draped across her neck and shoulders like a lovely silken curtain, each curly bouncing across her arm, each little perky corkscrew adorable and _beautiful_ in it's own way. When had that little girl that chased him around like a lovesick puppy become so delightfully winsome?

She lifted the red gift up and stood, her leg muscles flexing and relaxing through the white tights. His eyebrows raised and he felt himself blush a little harder, trying hard to fight off the obvious male thoughts that came with aesthetic legs like Amy's. She turned to face him, her cheeks still rosy from the cold and lips looking pinker than ever as she held out the gift to him in the same manner thats he had offered the shell bracelet to him all those years before.

"Shucks, you shouldn't have, Ames," he replied modestly at the exchange. "I can't bring much with me-"

"Just open it," she breathed. She appeared to be scrutinizing him urgently.

He took it from her grasp attentively and undid the ribbon. He could almost imagine her sitting in her house, cross legged with the present in her lap, tying the bow on top tediously. Her gentle fingers would weave the milky-shaded ribbon through and out of the knot until she got it _just_ right. It was funny how hard she still tried to make things perfect for him... especially since he'd just be unwrapping it later.

Sonic was sure to pocket the ribbon for future use as he unwrapped the parcel. It held a pocket-sized camera and was cushioned with a candy-apple red scarf that she had clearly knitted and sewn herself. "I know how much you like to travel, and I knew I couldn't get you much, because you couldn't carry it with you... but since you like to travel, I figure you could take pictures of things and then show me later? It's stupid, I know, but I can't come with you..." she rambled, blushing bashfully and tapping her fingers together nervously.

He looked at her. The thought had crossed his mind several times. Sharing the world with her would be like a dream to him- his two favorite things; running distances to see beautiful places and the pretty little rosette that had captured his heart after years of the frivolous chase. In the end, however, he never had the heart to remove her from her environment. Amy wasn't him. She needed stability and a house and a job. It was just how she was. She was his rock, his roots.

"...You can take pictures for yourself, too, they don't have to be for me-"

"It's perfect, Ames," he answered honestly. "Thank you."

He knew he had just taken a weight off of her shoulders. She smiled sweetly at him and nodded. "Oh.. you're welcome, Sonic. I knitted the scarf, too, because... well... I don't know if you'll be any place cold, but I'd hate for you to get sick on an adventure like this."

Sonic wrapped the red scarf around his neck. It was certainly warm, and since he had been to stubborn to admit to himself that he needed something to warm him in the midst of December, it helped more than Amy could have probably imagined. "Hey, now I won't freeze my quills off," he joked to fight off the sappy feelings that he felt coming onto him. Showering Amy with affection like that wasn't a way to keep her on her calm, tame side. Though she wasn't 12 anymore, he couldn't help but worry sometimes that she might revert back to her hyper, excitable faze. It was cute and all, but Sonic still had marks from where she had squeezed him too tightly.

She giggled softly, the sound like a symphony to match Sonic's rapidly drumming heart. "That was the idea, Sonic."

The scene was like magic. Here he was, standing in a clearing with Amy, the trees drooping and sparkling with white snow like a magnificent powder. She stood out from the scene like a beautiful flower, the single rose in a field of snow, the icy wonderland. The tree trunks were beginning to frost over with ice and he could see the white dust sprinkling down from the branches into Amy's rosy ringlets, her muzzle still burning with the beautiful crimson, the contrast striking. He wished he was a painter, in that moment, because he wanted to capture the serene beauty of her and the winter-clad clearing around her. And her eyes - oh, her eyes, the peridot shaded green gems that sparked with an enamored beauty stood out the most, making him forget how to speak for a moment or two.

It was then that he knew what he had to do. With a speed rivaling even his own record, he whipped out the camera and captured the moment before Amy could really even blink.

She let out a curious giggle and went to step towards him. "...I just don't want to forget how pretty you are when I leave again. When I miss you, I can look at this picture and remember why I paused my adventure. I mean..." he trailed off momentarily as she gave him an enchanted look. He suddenly felt shy and bashful underneath her meaningful stare."...Who wouldn't stop for someone as pretty as you?"

It was just too much for her heart to handle.

She leapt at him, arms wide and bracelet jingling slightly and sprung into his arms. He gasped a little, caught off guard as he jumped his arms around her quickly, holding her off of her feet and sliding one arm under her rump, holding her in place as the other held her back when she pressed her lips against his with such a passion that he was unable to comprehend what was really happening, for a moment. Reality came back to him and the grin that rubbed against her damp, moist lips made her giggle happily. His shivering pair matched her released, previously pent up passion better than she could have imagined. It brought her great comfort that he missed her just as much as she missed him.

A 'Merry Christmas' was exchanged quietly as they continued their entangling lip lock. The hand that had rested on her back pivoted so that his fingers could twirl her pink locks between themselves. She was soft and warm, bundled up in a coat like that and he forgot how much he loved the feeling of her fur against his fingertips. The arm that held her up slipped a little, allowing her to slide against him and land on the tips of her toes gingerly. Both of her arms were still laced faithfully around his neck and his had migrated to her sinuous hips, grasping and releasing them as his tongue gleefully explored the caverns of her mouth that he had forgotten in the time he'd been away from her.

She gave a silent little moan as he pulled his lips from hers. He got a good look at her; her eyes were shut gracefully and her tongue was sticking out a little, simply begging for his kiss to restart. He felt a little like a bully when she pouted childishly at him, her eyes opening to reveal her lovely jades. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Nah, I'm just afraid of getting an addiction and then quitting cold turkey," in all honesty, he wanted to love her. He wanted to touch her the way he hadn't allowed himself before, to take in the scent of her and the feeling of her skin against his, to taste her sweet breath in the morning when she woke up before him and peered down at him, laying on his chest... but he couldn't do that, and Amy understood, in that moment, when she nodded solemnly. It was his biggest dream to travel the world, and she'd agreed to let him embark on his quest. Still, though, he understood it was hard for her... and that was why he had promised to marry her someday.

He wondered sometimes if she realized it was as hard to him to leave her as it was for him to let him leave. He was never a fan of seeing her cry, and though she tried hard to hide it, her eyes always watered when he set off again. He reminded himself that this was something he had dreamed his whole life of doing - seeing the world, what fun! What freedom! - and a girl with pretty lively eyes and the softest lips he'd ever kissed shouldn't slow him down. He knew what he wanted, and though he loved Amy dearly, this was just something he had to do. It was something he had always wanted...

"You'll still be here when I'm done?"

The lazy, lusty look in her eyes made him think twice about stopping their kiss. "I'd wait forever."

And that was something that he'd always love about her. Amy respected his freedom as long as the wind blew her way every once in a while. She knew that he'd always come back to her. Home is where the heart is, and there was no question in her mind anymore that his heart rested in her, because it was the same for her. Every heartbeat was for him, every tick of life that coursed through her veins had been long dedicated to the blue blur. It was the idea that this feeling was returned that kept her rooted to her place, of the forever damsel, waiting for him until the world ended.

He pulled her closer, their hips pressing together. She rested her head on his shoulder; he could feel her fluttering eyelashes on the crook of his neck. "Take me home," she cooed. "I'm cold."

The taller male stood there with her in his arms for a long moment. She nudged him a little and he breathed in the fresh, chilled winter air and admired the snow around them for a longer moment than he intended. The scene was lovely, and with the fast paced life he lived, he didn't often take the time to admire what he had waiting back home for him.

"Sonic?" she inquired lightly. Just as she was about to question him again he scooped the delicate female into his arms. "Wh-"

"You'd better have some of your Christmas cookies waiting for me, babe," he laughed a little, the serene expression gone and instead replaced with his cocky grin. Before she could say anything else he had bolted forward, earning a squeal from the now giggling pink hedgegirl that fit so snugly in his arms. Her hands still rested behind his neck, holding herself up just enough to steal a quick, fleeting kiss. The only reason she broke it was because Sonic had lost his concentration and swerved; Amy shrieked as they both plummeted into a snow bank, Sonic's feet flailing above both of their heads.

One this was for certain - the rosy rascal was glad she got her blue beau a _waterproof_ camera.


End file.
